--- title: "DHSC: Supplier assurance information session for Social Care case management systems" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078f69" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078f69" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078f69.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078f69.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Department of Health and Social Care" published: "2026-10-23" --- # DHSC: Supplier assurance information session for Social Care case management systems Buyer: Department of Health and Social Care Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078f69 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078f69) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078f69.json) ## Summary The Department of Health and Social Care, working with the Department for Education, is exploring a Catalogue Agreement to assure data and interoperability standards for adults’ and children’s social care case management systems. The aim is to help local authorities and suppliers structure, share and use information more consistently across organisations and systems. The standards are intended to support earlier intervention, improve the accuracy and flow of information for people receiving care, and strengthen local and national planning and decision-making through better data and analytics. The Catalogue Agreement would set out government and supplier responsibilities, provide a structured way for suppliers to demonstrate alignment with agreed requirements, and support ongoing standards management and future requirements. The work concerns social care software and related information technology services for use across the sector; the engagement is online, with no delivery location stated. This is planning-stage preliminary market engagement, not an invitation to tender. The departments are exploring the Catalogue Agreement model and will use an online supplier information session to explain the proposed approach and gather feedback; participation will not affect suppliers’ position in any later commercial process. The session is expected on 24 November 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30, and questions for consideration are invited by 17 November 2026. Registration is through the event page. The procurement record identifies one planning lot, with the work period shown as 17–24 November 2026. The listed value is £0. The session will cover how the agreement might operate and how suppliers could engage as the model develops; no procurement procedure, bid evaluation criteria or contract award arrangements are set out at this stage. The engagement is relevant to organisations that currently supply, or may supply, case management systems for adult or children’s social care, including software suppliers and businesses providing related IT services. Suppliers with experience in local-authority social care systems, data standards, interoperability, information sharing and system integration are well placed to contribute practical feedback on how assurance requirements could work across different products and organisations. The proposed Catalogue Agreement is intended to give suppliers a structured route to demonstrate that their solutions align with agreed standards, within a familiar model already used in parts of the NHS and adult social care. Small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable participants. This is an opportunity to understand and influence the emerging assurance approach and future requirements, rather than to submit a bid for a contract now. No specific accreditation or technical qualification is stated.»} gatnaimplicitly, wait fields word counts: info 111; details 104; benefits 117. Good. But date question due date 17th questions and session date; milestone dueDate Nov24. We phrase date expectations. fine. Values £0 described listed value maybe zero planning marker could appear but source says monetary value 0; worth mention? Their rules value fields. yes. Maybe no need monetary in planning? explicit include indicative budget or value. Good. Output JSON valid. In UK £0. Final includes 3 exact fields. ## Notice Purpose of this notice The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are inviting current and prospective suppliers of adults' and children's social care case management systems (CMSs) to participate in an information session. The session will outline the government's plans to explore a Catalogue Agreement as the assurance mechanism for the data and interoperability standards being developed through the adults' and children's social care Data Standards Programme (https://standard.socialcaredata.io/). It will explain why this approach is being considered, how the Catalogue Agreement is expected to operate in practice, and how suppliers can engage as the model develops. About the Data Standards Programme DfE and DHSC recognise the critical role that CMSs play in supporting the delivery of adult and children's social care across local authorities. Engagement with local authorities, suppliers, and wider sector partners, has identified opportunities to strengthen how information is structured, shared and used both within and across the relevant organisations. Building on existing work, including the Foundational Specification (https://www.bettergov.co.uk/blog/2025/09/foundational-specification) published last year, and through close alignment with other national data and information-sharing initiatives, DfE and DHSC are working to support local authorities and suppliers in realising these opportunities through a Data Standards Programme. DfE and DHSC are working with Social Finance (https://www.socialfinance.org.uk/impact/closing-the-digital-gaps-that-put-children-at-risk), the Open Data Institute and Coram to deliver the Data Standards programme. The programme aim is to develop a core set of data and interoperability standards for social care CMSs to support more joined-up ways of working, improve the flow of information between systems, and promote greater consistency across the whole sector. When implemented at scale, these standards are intended to: * Enable earlier intervention by helping practitioners access the right information at the right time, including where information is held across multiple systems. * Improve people's experience of social care by supporting access to accurate and up-to-date information across organisations, improving the safety and quality of care, and reducing the need for people to repeat their stories. * Improve analytics and decision-making by enabling better use of data to support planning, insight and decision-making locally and nationally. About the Catalogue Agreement The Digital Services Integrated Care (DSIC) Catalogue Agreement is a formal agreement between government and suppliers that sets out the responsibilities and commitments of both parties. It provides a structured approach to implementing standards, assuring supplier solutions, and maintaining a roadmap for future requirements. For the Data Standards Programme, DfE and DHSC are exploring this approach as the assurance mechanism for data and interoperability standards. The Catalogue Agreement could provide a structured route for suppliers to demonstrate alignment with agreed requirements and support a consistent approach to standards adoption across the sector. This approach is already used across parts of the NHS and adult social care (including GP IT and Digital Social Care Records). As an established model, it provides a familiar and transparent framework for supplier engagement, standards assurance and ongoing management of future requirements. ### Planning Information Engagement process description This session provides an opportunity for suppliers to learn about and provide feedback on the departments' exploration of a Catalogue Agreement as the assurance mechanism for social care data standards. It will be delivered as an online webinar featuring presentations from representatives of DfE, DHSC, NHS England and Social Finance, followed by a live question-and-answer discussion. It is open to organisations that currently supply, or may be interested in supplying, case management systems for adults’ or children’s social care. We look forward to working collaboratively with suppliers as this work progresses. Registration Date: Tuesday 24th November Time: 10-11:30am Format: Online webinar Registration route: Please register via link: Supplier assurance information session: social care case management systems | techUK (https://www.techuk.org/events/supplier-assurance-information-session-social-care-case-management-systems) Participation suitability The session is open to organisations that currently supply, or may be interested in supplying, case management systems for adults' or children's social care. Participation or non-participation in this engagement will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in relation to any future commercial process. DfE and DHSC may publish, or otherwise make available, relevant information arising from the engagement to support fair and transparent market access. Organisations wishing to participate are invited to register using the link provided above. Registration requests will only be accepted via the registration link; the email address below should not be used to register for the session. If you would like to submit a question for consideration by the department and its partners ahead of the session, we would welcome these by 17th November. Please send any questions to the following email address: martin.robbins@dhsc.gov.uk ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100663-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 23 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 17 Nov 2026 - 24 Nov 2026 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Department of Health and Social Care | | Locality | LONDON | | Postcode area | South West London | | Postcode | SW1H 0EU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 72222000 - Information systems or technology strategic review and planning services - 72222300 - Information technology services - 85321000 - Administrative social services ## Release History - 23 Oct 2026 at 15:37 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100663-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100663-2026 23rd October 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://standard.socialcaredata.io/ - https://www.bettergov.co.uk/blog/2025/09/foundational-specification - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.socialfinance.org.uk/impact/closing-the-digital-gaps-that-put-children-at-risk - https://www.techuk.org/events/supplier-assurance-information-session-social-care-case-management-systems ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078f69. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078f69.json.